The 2nd Shock Army, sometimes translated to English as 2nd Assault Army, was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to overcome difficult defensive dispositions in order to create a tactical penetration of sufficient breadth and depth to permit the commitment of mobile formations for deeper exploitation. However, as the war went on, Shock Armies lost this specific role and reverted, in general, to ordinary frontline formations.
The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies. Where necessary the Shock armies were reinforced with mechanised, tank, and cavalry units. During the Second World War, some Shock armies included armoured trains and air–sled equipped units.
The Separate Coastal Army, also translated to English as Independent Coastal Army, was an army-level unit in the Red Army that fought in World War II. It was established on July 18, 1941, by the order of the Southern Front from the forces of 9th Army’s Coastal Group and was stood up on July 20, 1941.
The 10th Guards Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Ground Forces. The full name of its predecessor division was the 10th Guards Rifle Pechengskii, Twice Order of the Red Banner, Order of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Red Star Division. The 10th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 52nd Rifle Division in late 1941.
The 27th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which fought in World War II.
The 18th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Russian Civil War, Polish–Soviet War, Winter War and World War II. The division was formed a total of five times during this period.
The 46th Army was a Soviet Red Army field army during World War II. The army was formed in August 1941 and guarded the Turkish border. During the summer of 1942, it fought in the Battle of the Caucasus. During the spring of 1943, the army helped capture Maykop and Krasnodar. During the summer of 1943, it fought in the Donbass Strategic Offensive and the Battle of the Dnieper. During early 1944, it fought in the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive and the Odessa Offensive. During the summer it fought in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. The army advanced westward and participated in the Battle of Debrecen and Budapest Offensive during the fall. After the fall of Budapest in February 1945, the army fought in the Vienna Offensive and the Prague Offensive. During the summer of 1945, the army moved to the Odessa Military District and was disbanded in September.
The Red Army's 54th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in the Leningrad Military District in August, 1941, and continued in service in the northern sector of the Soviet-German front until the end of 1944. It spent much of the war attempting to break the German siege of Leningrad, in which it helped to achieve partial success in January, 1943, and complete success one year later. During these operations the soldiers of the 54th served under five different commanders, most notably Col. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky in the winter of 1941–42. After helping to drive Army Group North away from Leningrad and into the Baltic states in the first nine months of 1944, the army was deemed surplus to requirements on the narrowing front, and was officially disbanded on the last day of the year.
The 120th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times. Its first formation became the 6th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Yelnya Offensive. Its second formation became the 69th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division was reformed a third time in late April 1943. It was disbanded "in place" with the Central Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.
The 325th Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, made up of older reservists and young men with no prewar training. As with many other divisions in the 320–330 series it was flung into the fighting west of Moscow in the 10th Army to defend the capital and then to take part in the winter counteroffensive. After a year on a quiet sector the division rejoined the fighting in the late winter of 1943, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 90th Guards Rifle Division. After disappearing from the Soviet order of battle for more than a year a new division was formed in the spring of 1944, based on a cadre of two distinguished rifle brigades, and gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in East Prussia.
The 364th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
The 19th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the first formation of the 366th Rifle Division on March 17, 1942. At this time it was in the 52nd Army of Volkhov Front, taking part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation, which was planned to encircle and defeat the enemy forces laying siege to Leningrad. However, just at that time the German 18th Army was in the process of cutting off the Soviet Lyuban grouping in a pocket, and over the following months the division was nearly destroyed. Enough survivors emerged from the swamps in June and July to rebuild the unit, and it fought in the Second Sinyavino Offensive before it was shifted south into Kalinin Front to take part in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki in December. In the summer of 1943 the 19th Guards fought in the battles for Smolensk, and won its first battle honor, "Rudnya". in September. During the offensive in the summer of 1944 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes in the fighting around Vitebsk. It was further honored in February, 1945, with the Order of Lenin for its role in the victories in East Prussia. In the summer the division was moved by rail with its 39th Army to the Far East and saw action in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August, winning its second battle honor, "Khingan", for its services. The division continued to see service well into the postwar era.
The 374th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River and it continued to serve in the fighting near Leningrad until early 1944. The dismal fighting on this front gave little opportunity for a unit to distinguish itself, and the division did not finally earn a battle honor until late January 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive. It continued to serve in the summer and autumn offensive through the Baltic States, becoming so reduced in strength that its remaining infantry was consolidated into a single understrength regiment which nevertheless won a battle honor in the liberation of Riga. The 374th ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 376th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. It followed a very similar combat path to that of the 374th Rifle Division. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River and it continued to serve in the battles near Leningrad until early 1944. The division took horrendous casualties in the combat to create and hold open a passage to the 2nd Shock Army during the Lyuban Offensive and was itself partly or fully encircled at several times during this dismal fighting. The division finally left this region as it advanced during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944 and in July won a battle honor in the liberation of Pskov, while its 1250th Rifle Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In October the 376th as a whole would also receive the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Riga. The division ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was reorganized as a rifle brigade shortly thereafter.
The 377th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It followed a very similar combat path to that of the 374th and 376th Rifle Divisions. It joined the fighting front in December with the 4th Army, and then briefly came under command of 2nd Shock Army, but soon moved to the 59th Army along the Volkhov River, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until early 1944. The division took very heavy casualties during the Lyuban Offensive in several attempts to relieve the beleaguered 2nd Shock Army. After rebuilding the division held the Army's bridgehead over the Volkhov during 1943, and finally advanced during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944, taking part in the assault that liberated Novgorod. During the spring the division saw heavy fighting in the battles for Narva before moving south for the summer offensive into the Baltic states. In September it won a battle honor in the liberation of Valga, and in October also received the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Riga. The division ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was disbanded later in 1945.
The 379th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It first served in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow, and later in the bitter fighting around the Rzhev salient, but was moved north late in 1942. It took up positions along the Volkhov River, mostly under command of the 8th Army, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until September 1943, when it was transferred to the 2nd Baltic Front, where it would stay for the remainder of its service. During this period the division served under many army and corps commands but mostly in the 3rd Shock Army. The division ended the war in Lithuania, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. By this time it was judged as being surplus to the Red Army's needs and in December 1944 its personnel were merged with the 245th Rifle Division to bring that division closer to establishment strength; the latter division also inherited its battle honor. The 379th was officially disbanded on the first day of 1945.
The 382nd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming on August 10 in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River. Apart from a few weeks in 1944 the division served in either the Volkhov Front or the Leningrad Front for the entire war. It suffered horrendous casualties after being encircled in the swamps and forests near Lyuban and was severely understrength for many months afterwards while serving on a relatively quiet front. It remained in the line in the dismal fighting near Leningrad until early 1944 with little opportunity to distinguish itself, and the division did not finally earn a battle honor until late January, 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive. Following this the division was moved to the Karelian Isthmus and entered the summer offensive against Finland in the reserves of Leningrad Front before being assigned to the 23rd Army. Following the Finnish surrender it was redeployed westward, helping to mop up pockets of enemy forces in the Baltic states in early 1945. The 382nd ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was officially disbanded in February, 1946.
The 225th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed in December 1941 from the remnants of the pre-war 3rd Tank Division and based on the shtat of July 29, 1941. The 3rd Tank's single rifle regiment was joined by two reserve rifle regiments, and its howitzer regiment was converted to a standard artillery regiment. As part of 52nd Army in Volkhov Front it took part in largely local fighting in the Novgorod area, seeing combat in several abortive attempts to retake the city until it finally played a main role in its liberation in January 1944 and received its name as a battle honor.
The 259th Rifle Division was formed from reservists as a standard Red Army rifle division, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941. It was assigned to the 34th Army of Reserve Front before the end of July, but this Army was soon reassigned to Northwestern Front. Under these commands it took part in the Staraya Russa offensive operation in August. It suffered significant casualties in its first operation but after falling back toward Leningrad it took part, as part of 52nd Army, in both the defense of Tikhvin and the following counteroffensive that retook the city in one of the first major German reverses. In the new year the 259th was involved in the Lyuban offensive, mostly under command of the ill-fated 2nd Shock Army, and this struggle continued into June. Enough of the division escaped encirclement that it avoided disbandment, and it was sufficiently restored by late August that it was committed to the second Sinyavino offensive, eventually becoming encircled again and forced to break out, at considerable cost. In early October it was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a lengthy period of restoration, well into 1943, in 2nd Reserve Army, as it moved well to the south.
The 198th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several modifications. It entered combat as a rifle division during the Tikhvin Offensive in December 1941 as a reinforcement for 54th Army, helping to drive elements of Army Group North back to the Volkhov River from their earlier gains. It would remain near that river line into early 1944. During 1942 it took part in several abortive offensives in an effort to relieve the siege of Leningrad, suffering heavy losses in one of them. In 1943 it was mainly used for line-holding duties at a reduced establishment, in an area where German forces were strictly on the defensive. The 198th was brought back up to something approaching the current establishment by the start of 1944 and, during the offensive that finally drove Army Group North away from Leningrad, it helped to maintain the offensive's momentum following the initial breakthrough as part of 119th Rifle Corps. It was finally reassigned to 3rd Baltic Front's 67th Army in April after it was halted at the Panther Line near Pskov. In August it briefly returned to 54th Army during the advance through the Baltic States, and after the capture of Riga it remained in western Latvia for the duration of the war, serving under several commands, mostly the 42nd and 10th Guards Armies. It was one of the very few divisions that served throughout the war without receiving any battle honors or decorations. Despite this, the 198th continued its service, now in western Siberia, for another 10 years, before being redesignated as the 23rd Rifle Division.
